Not long ago I did a post on long-term planning. Many women have stopped looking 5 -10 years out and look more to the 18-mos. to 2 year range. Meanwhile others set work/life goals that extend 5 years out to use as a guidepost to help keep them focused when things do change. These milestones provide a guide to compare to, analyze and adjust rather than hold onto rigidly. I thought a woman I interviewed recently had an interesting take on this…it’s actually a flip on planning.
“You are going to change so much in the next 3, 5, 10 years. I think everyone should have mid-life crisis every 3 to 5 years. Things change significantly. Spend time figuring yourself out.” – 40-something, NYC
I love this idea of having a midlife crisis every 3-5 years. It forces you align your goals and values with the way you are living your life. A mid-life crisis often happens when you don’t adjust or keep your dreams in sight and then you wake up at 40 wondering …how did I get here? This is not my beautiful life.
The quarter-life crisis is more a matter of dealing with the myriad of choices you have today and facing the pressure to make the right choices. Having so many choices is difficult but it is also a privilege. It means you have to do the hard work of figuring out what you want rather than what society or someone else chooses. That is hard but worth it I think. So perhaps proactively having a mid life crisis — aligning the way you are living to the way you want to live, is a good thing to do every 3 years!
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